Listen to the author reading this blog post:
by Liz Walter
In my last post, I discussed the importance of learning verb patterns. In this post, I will look at a few slightly more advanced points.
I’ll start with verbs of perception, such as feel, see, watch and notice. These are most often followed by -ing verbs, but bare infinitives (infinitives without to) are also possible:
I felt the sun warming/warm my skin.
We watched the children playing/play in the park.
When students first learn the verbs like, love, and hate, they also learn to follow them with an -ing verb. This is by far the most common verb pattern and you will always be correct if you do this. However, it is also possible to use a to-infinitive, especially if we are talking about things we do regularly:
I like reading/to read before bed.
There is a small group of very common verbs where the verb pattern depends on the meaning of the verb. For example, look at this pair of sentences with the verb remember:
I remembered to lock the door when I left.
I remember locking the door when I left.
In the first sentence, remember is used in the sense of not forgetting something that you need to do. In the second, it is used in the sense of having the memory of doing something.
Verb patterns for forget work in a similar way:
I forgot to bring my passport.
I’ll never forget meeting the king.
The verb need is usually followed by a to-infinitive, but you can also say that ‘something needs doing’ to mean that an action should be performed on something:
I need to mend my coat.
My coat needs mending.
The most common verb pattern to use with stop is an -ing verb, but if we are talking about ending an action in order to do something else, we use a to-infinitive:
We couldn’t stop laughing.
We stopped to admire the view.
With the verb try, the most common pattern is to-infinitive, but when we use try in the sense of testing an action to see if it works well, we use an -ing verb:
I try to go running at least three times a week.
I tried opening the windows, but it was still stuffy in the room.
Finally, we’ll look at the verb mean. In the sense of ‘intend’, it is followed by a to-infinitive, whereas in the sense of having a particular result, it needs an –ing verb:
I didn’t mean to upset you.
Taking the job would mean moving to a new city.
I hope this post was useful, but remember that you can also get help on verb patterns by looking at the examples in the Cambridge Dictionary.
Very useful – thank you!
Thanks so much!
Thank you for give your feedback so I am happy to see you soon again this is very helpful for me event exam view of point I have studying hard to bring up in the habit that all. .
Extremely useful , thank you .
I love reading this dictionary bloc, but at 78 I may read it as much as I like, thinking I’m improving my mind, but not one word sticks. Not one blessed word! The word frustration doesn’t do enough to express what I feel. I hope this marvellous by product of age misses everyone connected with this great blog. Now, what was I saying…?
Aww, that’s such a nice comment – thanks for reading anyway!
Thanks for the helpful post, Liz. I wonder whether I could ask you a question not directly related to verb patterns but still related to the use of verbs. I noticed you ended the post by saying “I hope this post was useful”. Would it have been correct to say “I hope this post has been useful” instead? Thanks!
Or how about “I hope this post is useful”? It would still be correct, right?
Yes, that’s fine too!
Hello, Pedro! If you don’t mind me sticking my oar in, as I’m also just a learner, in this case we cannot use present perfect because the post was already written and posted. The present perfect usually gives a hint that the action may happen in the future, but here it is not relatable to the situation. (I hope I’m not wrong with this explanation))))))
For me, present perfect works fine. It’s usually for thing that have already happened, when the exact timing isn’t particularly important.
Yes, both forms are correct!